April 29 & 30
Yesterday (Sunday) we took the train from Copenhagen to Malmo, Sweden. It’s only a 35-minute ride so it was quite uneventful. It was a beautiful day, so we checked our luggage at the central station and walked around the town. The streets were pretty deserted and just as we were wondering where everyone was, we found a large, beautiful park and pretty much all the residents of Malmo. A river threaded its way through the park and there was also a good-sized lake. There were a lot of people there but because the park is so large, it didn’t seem crowded.
On our way out of the park, we found an outdoor café that was just packed with people. We had some refreshment before heading back to the train station to get our luggage. Even though we had directions for how to get to our flat on public transportation, we have found it easier to take a taxi the first time. We don’t want to take the chance on getting lost while dragging our luggage behind us, especially since Lynn’s hip and back are still giving her fits.
We found a large grocery store about a 15-minute walk from the flat, so we had a delicious chicken and some mashed potatoes for dinner. Then it was some Rummikub, Cubs baseball (swept the Brewers) and bed.
This morning (Monday) we headed back to the city center on the bus. We planned to rent bikes and ride around the park, but it was quite a bit cooler today and crazy windy. So, we decided to take a pass on the bikes and visit the Malmo Castle instead. The castle was originally built in the early 15th century, partially demolished in the early 16th century and then rebuilt in 1530 by King Christian of Denmark (at that time Malmo was part of Denmark). In the late 16th century, the third husband of Mary Queen of Scotts was imprisoned there after his ship ran aground in Bergen Norway. Not sure how he got from Norway to Malmo, but he was there for 5 years.
We visited 3 different museums and an aquarium. The museums were small but quite nice. While we were touring the Castle the sun disappeared and it started to rain. Since Lynn had pulled out her cane and Peter’s neck was feeling a bit stiff (we are a couple of wrecks!!) we decided to head back to the flat.
A woman used this boat to try to sail from Malmo to the US. She didn’t succeed (big surprise). She did survive, though, so that’s good.
By the time we got off the bus the sun was out again, so we stopped for a pre-dinner drink at a local restaurant. Dinner was a repeat of last night followed by another few games of Rummikub. The Cubs play at 6pm which is the middle of the night for us so no baseball tonight. 🙁
Tomorrow we’re on the train to Gothenburg about 2 1/2 hours north of here. We’re looking forward to a relaxing ride along the coast. Hopefully it will be a sunny day; we’ll let you know.